Like Cinderella, Leaving Work Exactly at 6... Korea's Trending 'Nowadays Husbands and Absent Dads' [News Terms]

As low birth rates have become a significant challenge for Korean society, the concept of ‘Yojum Husband·Eopdeon Appa (Not Like Old Daddies, Millennial Hubbies)’ is gaining attention with the arrival of the new year 2024. Yojum Husband·Eopdeon Appa is a concept introduced in the annual forecast report ‘Trend Korea 2024,’ which observes consumption trends for the coming year. It reflects changes in the values of family life and gender roles among millennial men in their 30s and 40s. Instead of the authoritative patriarch of the past, this term refers to husbands who have become equal partners and ‘Eopdeon Appa,’ or ‘6 o’clock Cinderella’ dads, who refuse to work overtime to spend time with their children.

Paternity leave for men is being mentioned as a solution to the low birth rate problem. As roles traditionally divided by gender?such as professional work, housework, and childcare?converge into a single area of life regardless of gender, experts evaluate that paternity leave is no longer an exclusive privilege of women. Moreover, the proportion of male office workers in their 30s and 40s who prioritize family life over work is rapidly increasing.

However, reality does not fully support this change in perception. According to recent statistics released by Statistics Korea, the proportion of men taking paternity leave last year was 27.1%, which is significantly low compared to women’s 72.9%. Although this figure has increased tenfold since 2010, more effort is needed to achieve balance. In particular, paternity leave is currently widespread mainly in large corporations, and male employees working in small and medium-sized enterprises find it difficult to take paternity leave.

Additionally, according to the ‘2023 Women’s Economic Activity White Paper’ published by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the number of women receiving reduced working hours benefits during childcare last year was 17,465, accounting for 89.7% of the total, which increased by 16.0% (2,408 people) compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the number of male recipients was 2,001, which increased by 22.6% (369 people) from the previous year but accounted for only 10.3% of the total.

In Nordic countries, the ‘Latte Papa’ (actively involved fathers) phenomenon began with policies expanding paternity leave and was firmly established in reality as companies actively embraced these policies. Japan, which, like Korea, suffers from a serious low birth rate problem, also recognizes ‘Yojum Husband, Eopdeon Appa’ and both the government and companies are making efforts to increase male paternity leave. It is expected that throughout this year, attention will focus on which companies will create Yojum Husbands and Eopdeon Appa.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.